Centering-machine.



m. 693,608. Patented Apnea, |902.

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CENTERING MACHINE. (Apllication med nu. 7,'1899.) .(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet l.

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no. 699,609. 'Patented Apr. 29, |902.

L. E. WHITN. CENERING MACHINE. (Application mea nu. 7, 1899.)

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l(No Model.)

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No. 698,693. Patented Apr. 29, |902.

" L. E. WHITDN.

CENTERING MACHINE.

(Application led Mar. 7, 1899.) (llo Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LUCIUS E. WHlTON,1OF `NEW LONDON, CONNECTICUT.

CENTERlNG-NIACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 698,608, dated April 29, 1902.

Application tiled March 7, 1899.

To LZZ whom, it may concern.- i

Be it known that 1,' LUoIUs E. WHITON, a citizen of the United States, residing at New London, in the county of New London, State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements'in Centering-Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description. Y

This invention is in machines for centering shaftng and the like rods of metal; and said invention has for its chief obj ect the improve` ment of the means provided for holding and revolving the rods, to the end that the work may be performed more perfect and rapidly than has been possible heretofore. A

For the purposeof explaining the various elements and operation of myimproved centering-machine I have annexed hereto three sheets of drawings, to which reference is made,Figure l being an elevatiomand Fig. 2 a plan view,of my said machine. Figs. 3 and 4 are end elevations of said machine as viewed, respectively, from the left-hand `and righthand ends of Fig. 1.- Fig. 3a shows in elevation the centering-chuck 52 and the manner in which its adjustable jaws support the revolving work while thesame is .being cen-` tered. Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of the work-holding chuck 42 and connected parts, this view being taken online l of Fig. l look- Aing in the direction of the arrow; and Fig. 6 is a similar view looking in the opposite di-` rection-that is to say, toward thehead that supports the centering-tools. Fig. 7 illustrates in central sectionthe driving-pulley 27 and a train Vof gearing connectedthere-f with, by means of which rotary motion is transferred to the chuck 42, as I shall explain' in detail later. In Fig. 8 I have shown cer- Vtain of the gears ofthe said train, thepulley being indicated by thedotted circle surround- Y ing said gears. Fig.` 9 is a longitudinal cen` ltral sectionalview of the machine-bed .andh the work-holding chuck mounted thereon. Said view also includes aportion of the said bed in elevation and a simple ch uck provided` thereon for supporting that end of the rod that is being centered. It should be under! stood that this last-named chuck does not clamp the rod tightlyduring the centering operatiombutis so adjustedthat while it supports the rod end in proper position to be serial No. 708.148. (No model.)

l operated upon bythe drill the rodis free to rotate within said chuck. Per contra, the chuck 42 is so adjusted that it clamps the rod tightly and when setin revolution imparts like motion to the rod. Fig. l0 is a sectional view taken on a vertical plane at a right angle to thatof Fig. 9 and is provided to illustrate and emphasize a very important feature of my improved machine, whereby lthe work-holding chuck 42 may be conveniently swung aside when it is desired to simply support a rod during the centering operation, but not to revolve said rod. Fig. 11 is a longitudinal central sectionalview taken on line 10 of Fig. l0, showing the manner-of `mounting and hinging (upon a certain shaft 33) the chuck 42.

ln the drawings, 20 indicates the machinebed, mounted upon suitable legs and having formed on its upper face ways 21,'upon which are mounted and held in alinementthe drillsupporting mechanism and the chucks by means of which the rod that is to be centered lis held. The drill supporting and driving fmechanism,.which I will brieiiy describe, is

inthe main old, (being the subject of United States Patent No. 426,347, dated April 22, 1890,) the only improved feature in'connection therewith being certain means for conveying rotarymotion to the work-holding chuck at the opposite end of the machine. Said drillsupporting mechanism consists of a head 22,

that 'is bored to receive a stud 23, on which is -loosely mounted a gear having two toothed steps 24 25 of 'different diameters, as is best seen in Figs.`7 and 8. 'lhis double gear is formed with 'an extended hub portion 26, on

-lwhichis mounted apulley 27, the said gear and pulleybeing secured'together and adapted to `revolve as a single structure on the 2S denotes a frame 1n which are mounted two spindles`29 30, the former of which is adapted to receive a drill `and the latter a countersinking-tool. These spindles are longitudinally movable in frame A28 and are 'adapted to be engaged and slid forward and backward by a gear 302, mounted upon a short shaft 303," which shaft is journaled in the head 22 and is provided with` an operatinghandlefaOff of lever form.-

` Referring now to Fig. 8,`it"will be seen that IOO the shank of spindle 29 has fixed thereon -a gear 29 and that the shank of spindle 30 has fixed thereon a similar gear 30'. These gears 29' and 30 are not in the same vertical plane, but are so located that the former meshes with gear 24 and the latter (30') meshes with the gear 25, already described.

The frame 28 has an extension 28', that is loosely mounted on the stud 23. and 7.) The said frame 28 may thus be rocked on stud 23 to alternately move the drill and eountersink into their operative positionsthat is to say, immediately over the center of the stud-and for the purpose of limiting the rocking movement of the frame 28 I provide in the head 22 adjustable stop-screws 3l and check-nuts 32. (See Fig. 6.) 282 denotes a handle attached to frame 28, by means of which the said frame may be conveniently rocked whenever it is desired to shift the positions of the drill and countersink.

The driving mechanism of the head 22 thus far described is old, and it should be understood that I make no claim to it here.

I will now proceed to describe the peculiar' train and arrangement of gearing by means of which rotary motion is transmitted to the work-holding chuck at the opposite end of the machine.

33 denotes a shaft located at the back of the machine and journaled at one end in an extension 22 of the head 22. The other end of said shaft is supported in an extension 34 of a slider 34, that is mounted on the ways 21.

'Near the head extension 22 is a gear 35, that is fixed on the shaft 33. Journaled in the head 22 is a short shaft 36, (shown in dotted lines in Figs. 6 and 7 and in full lines in Fig.

8,) which shaft bears on its opposite ends The shaft 37 has a long bearing in thev frame 22 and is so arranged that it may be moved longitudinally in its said bearing in order Vthat the gear 37 may be withdrawn from` its operative-position in t-he train, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 7, this result being sometimes desirable when it is not necessary to revolve shaft 33. 38 denotes a ball-shaped handle on the projecting end of shaft 37, by means of which the said shaft may be conveniently drawn forward when it is desired to throw the gears out of mesh, as I have just explained.

The connection between shaft 33 and Vthe chuck-bearing slider 34 .is peculiarly made and is best seen in Figs. 5, l0, andll'. It

may be stated by wayv of explanation that (See Figs. 6-

the slider `34 is adjustable on ways 2l and musttherefore be freely movable along the said shaft 33 and that the connection between the slider and shaft alsoserves as a hinge, by means of which the work-holding chuck may be swung back outof the way, this feature being clearly illustrated in Fig. 10 of the drawings. Shaft 33 is formed with a key-seat 33', that extends throughout the major part of its length, and loosely mounted on said shaft is a sleeve 39, in which is a spline 40, that coacts'with the described keyseat. Around' the sleeve 39 is a somewhat y'shorter sleeve 41, on which are located the two slider extension portions 34', and between these slider portionsis an extension 42' of the work-holding-chuck bearing 423. To

hold the several hinge, sleeve, and spline ele- 'the rotation of shaft 33 will impart a slow rotary movement to the chuck 42 and to the rod clamped by said chuck, the direction of rotation of said chuck and shaft being preferably, but not necessarily, the opposite of that imparted to the drill and countersink. The end of the shaft to be centered projects through and is loosely supported by the adjustable jaws of the stationary centering-chuck 52, as shown clearly in Figs. l and 32. When'thus supported and caused to revolve by the chuck `42 in the manner described, the center produced by advancing the drilling and countersinking tools will be located with perfect accuracy in relation to the exterior surface of the revolving shaft. It is thus possible by means of my improved machine to accurately center shafts of which the exterior surface has been previously finished, and thus en- Vmay be swung back out of the way, and when in this position, as shown in Fig. 10, ordinary unfinished bars may be firmly held and centered in the chuck 52 with sufficient accuracy for the usual requirement of turning the exterior surface. My improved machine is therefore adapted both for centering work of which the exterior surface is afterward to be finished with relation to the centers so produced and for locating Vthe lcenters in accurate relation with a previously-finished exterior surface, as may be required. When the revolving lchuck 42 is returned to its operative position,

it rests upon ways 342, formed' on the upper face of the slider 34, thus insuring the perfect IOO IIO

alinement of the chuck, the slider 34, and the machine-bed 2O.` When the work-holding chuck is thus seated on theslider 34, it is securely fastened and made a practically rigid part of said slider by means of a chain 43, a bolt 44, and a binding-nut 45, as will be best understood by referenceto Figs.` 9. and 10. The bolt 44 extends downward through a central opening in the slider 34 and througha longitudinal slot 20' in the machine-bed, and the upper end of the bolt is connected with the lower part of the chuck by the chain 43, the latter being of such length that when the chuck is folded down upon the slider it (the chain) reaches nearly to the bottom of the machine-bed. The said bolt is supported` in part by a bracket 46, that is held in vertical aline ment with the slider-opening by a screw47, eX- tending downward from the said slider,which also serves to clamp the slider 34 in the required position upon the bed. Near itsupper end the bolt 44` is somewhat enlarged and threaded, as at44, and the lower or exposed end of said bolt has fixed thereon a nut 48, that serves to prevent the nut 45 from leaving the bolt whenthe said nut 45V is unscrewed from the threaded part 44 of` the bolt.` When` the chuck is folded down upon the slider, the chain and connected boltpass downward by gravity through the slideropening and nearly through the opening in the bracket 46, as seen in Fig. 9. The nut 45 is thenslipped upward on the bolt 44 until it engages the threaded part 44` and is iinally screwed home on said threaded part until it abuts the lower end of bracket 46,- and thus makes taut the chain 43, 'clamping the chuck 42, slider 34, and bed20 together. When it is again desired `to swingthe chuck open, as in Fig. 10, it is only necessary to unscrew the nut 45 from the threaded part 44',when said nut immediately slips down the bolt until checked bythe stop-nut 48. The chuck may then be swung open, drawing upward with it the chain and bolt until the nut 45 abuts the lower end of bracket 46. When the machine is to be used with the chuck 42 thus removed from its operative position, a simple support for the rod tobe centered is ordinarily required,andthis,1 provide in the form of a verticallyadjustable rod 49, located in an openingin the` slider 34 just in the rear of the chuck `42, the upper or head portion of said rod being formed with a V-` shaped opening 50. This rod 49 may be clamped in desired position after adjustment byascrewl. ,i

I have referred to the entire hinged element 42 as the work-holdin g chuck, for the reason that when its several parts are assem-` bled it is practically a single structure. For

convenience of lmanufacture it is `preferable that it be built up of several parts, substantially as shown; but it is not imperative that it be so constructed.` It is only necessary that the chuck proper'be` capable of rotation, and this is accomplished `in thispresent instance by providing on the chuck a tubular extension 425, that is fitted torevolve within a shell or bearing 423, which latter is an integral part of the hinge 42.` The chuck proper I have show n as an ordinary scroll-chuck; but any other form of self-centering chuck would serve the purpose equally well. When operating upon a long shaft or rod, the work- `holding chuck 42 is moved back to the extreme end of the machine-bed, thus separating the two shaft-supports-to wit, the chucks 42 andO-as far as possible.

When my described machine is about to be used, the shaft d to be centered is first passed -through the chucks 42 52, as seen in Fig. 1.

The two chucks are then adj usted, so that the shaft is clamped `Iirmly by the chuck 42, but is simply centered and loosely supported by the chuck 52. The pulley 27u is then set in revolution, and through H the describedtrain of gearing, shaft 33, and gears 392 422 the slowly. The lever 304 is then movedto force the drill into cutting engagement with the shafte, and so soon as the hole is deep enough the drill is withdrawn, the handle 282. is

grasped, and the frame 28 is-rocked to bring `the countersink into the position last occupied by the drill-that is to say, into coincidence with the hole drillediin the end of the shaft. The countersink is then forcedforward and the hole is countersunk to the proper depth, the machine is stopped, and the shaft removed, the several described operations being performed quickly and accurately `two or more revolving and sliding spindles,

means substantially as speciiiedwfor sliding said spindles, means for supporting the rod to be centered consistingofa fixed chuck and `a revoluble chuck, a swinging. support for `work-holding chuck 42 is caused to rotate IOO IIO

said revoluble chuck as set forth, and mech-` i anism for simultaneously revolving the said spindles and the said rod. i

. 2. In combination, a `machine-bed, a slider mounted thereon, a work -holding chuck hinged to said slider, a boltin the slider having an enlarged threadedfportion and are-` duced body portion, achainconnecting the bolt and chuck, and a nut adapted to coactm with thesaid threaded portion of for the purpose specied.

In combination, a machine-bed, a slider the bolt,

`mounted on the said bed and formed with `lateraiextensions 34', sleeves 3941 located' within said extensions,\a` splined shaft supported within and by` the sleeve 39, a work` holding chuck mounted on the sliderand formed with an extension 42nthat ishinged on the` sleeve 4l substantially as specified;

4. In combination, a machine-bed, a slider mounted on the said bed and formed with one or more lateral extensions 34', a sleeve 39 provided with gear 392 and key 40 located within 422 Which is adapted to eoact with the gear said lateral extension, a spiined shaft sup- 392 Substantially as specified. o ported Within'and by the sleeve 39, a Work- Signed at New London, Connecticut, this holding-Chuck bearing 423 mounted on the 28th day of February, 1899. Y

Slider and formed with an extension 42 that LUCIUS E. VHITON.

is hinged on the said sleeve, and a Work-hold- Vitnesses:

ing chuck revoiubly mounted within the ALONZO M. LUTHER,

ehuek-bearing 423 and provided with a gear FRANK H. ALLEN. 

